I just received an interesting email from Carol that directly relates to heart surgery recovery. Carol writes, "Hi Adam - My husband had mitral valve replacement three weeks ago. I'm curious... Did you experience depression after heart valve surgery? Is it common for patients to experience cardiac depression following heart valve repair or heart valve replacement?"

Following my aortic and pulmonary valve replacements, I experienced my fair share of challenges (pain, cardiac depression). I also experienced several opportunities as well (my engagement, a new found perspective on life).

I recently received a question from Roger Sudbeck about heart rates after heart valve surgery. Roger recently had open heart, valve surgery and noticed that his heart rate was still elevated several weeks following his procedure. FYI, Roger had aortic valve replacement.

Nearly 435 days ago, I had open-heart surgery to fix a congenital defect in the aortic valve of my heart. After thirty four years of life, my bicuspid aortic valve which suffered from stenosis and regurgitation, needed to be replaced. As many of you know, this open-heart medical operation (known as the Ross Procedure) triggered a series of challenging lows (e.g. cardiac depression) and a series of memorable highs (e.g. my engagement to Robyn).

It's a great question. And, as I personally learned after my double heart valve replacement operation (known as the Ross Procedure), it's a tricky question to answer. Plus, if you're like me and you really enjoy your sleep, this is a critical question to ponder.

Ahh yes... The good ole' sternum cracking question. I've received this question a number of times from friends and family following my surgery. As you can read in my story, I had the Ross Operation performed.

I recently received an email that asked, "Adam, what was the most challenging aspect of your heart valve surgery?"